Jorge Messi, father and representative of Lionel Messi, died at the age of 68 in Rosario, his hometown, as reported this Saturday by Newell’s Old Boys, the club where the Argentine star began playing soccer.
Messi’s father died on Friday night in a hospital in Rosario, according to Argentine media. His figure was closely linked to the sporting and personal career of one of the best footballers in history.
Jorge was Lionel’s first coach when he was just four years old and played for the Grandoli neighborhood club. Since then he has accompanied every stage of his career, first as a father and guide and later as a representative and negotiator.
In 2000, Jorge left his job as a metallurgical employee in Argentina to move with Lionel, who was 13 years old at the time, to Spain. The objective was for the young man to be able to join Barcelona and continue treatment for a growth hormone deficiency.
Those first years in Barcelona were especially difficult for both of them. Father and son were away from the rest of the family while Lionel tried to make his way in professional football.
“My old man helped me a lot. He is very critical of me. That made me always want to improve myself,” Messi recalled in an interview in 2022.
Jorge was also the one who managed to close his son’s first contract with Barcelona. He later assumed a fundamental role as a representative and participated in the negotiations of the footballer’s contracts during his time at the Catalan team, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.
A relationship marked by football
With a low profile and little habit of giving interviews, Jorge Messi maintained a very close relationship with his son for decades. Lionel often turned to him to analyze his performances after games.
“The day Leo doesn’t play anymore, I think I’m going to lose hope and I’m not going to see football anymore,” Jorge told Kicker magazine in 2013, reflecting the extent to which football and his son were united in his life.
Newell’s Old Boys were one of the first clubs to express their condolences over the death of the father of the Argentine world champion. The Argentine Professional Football League also sent a message of support to the Messi family.
The judicial controversies
Jorge Messi’s career was also marked by some judicial controversies related to his son’s image rights.
In 2013, Jorge and Lionel were accused by Spanish justice of using companies in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belize and Uruguay to manage income from the footballer’s image rights and avoid paying taxes. The case ended in 2017 with million-dollar fines, without prison sentences for either of them.
In 2019, Jorge and Lionel Messi, in addition to the Leo Messi Foundation, were reported again in Spain for alleged crimes against the Treasury, fraud and money laundering. The case was filed in 2021.
Jorge Messi leaves behind his wife, Celia Cuccittini, and his four children: Rodrigo, Matías, Lionel and María Sol. His legacy is closely linked to the story of Lionel Messi and the first steps that took the Rosario footballer to the top of world football.
